Quick Reads

Almost time to celebrate! If you are ready for a quick read, then Larry and I each have one for you.

For many years, Larry and his friend walked around a lake at a neighborhood park every day at lunch. They saw many of the same people in their laps around the lake. As many of us do, Larry made up stories about who they were and what their lives were like. Unlike most of us, however, he wrote these stories down. The result is his book Lakeview Park: A Short Story Collection.

The book contains thirteen short stories, each with an illustration.

Many people enjoy Lakeview Park, and each one has a unique story. Between the pages, you’ll meet:

·     Clarence, who thinks he might have found a winning lottery ticket

·     Kuniko, a grandmother and widow who discovers that friendship can bloom anywhere

·     Wayne, a former guitarist who rediscovers the joy of music

·     Jenny, a mother whose husband is serving in Afghanistan

·     Carol, whose journalistic assignment teaches her more than she expects

·     Shirley, who discovers that some dreams are worth keeping

·     Alex, for whom friendship bridges age differences and soothes a broken heart

·     Gloria, who discovers her blessings and makes peace with her past

·     Alice, who loves to tell jokes, even though her memory is fading

·     Carl, who discovers that reality may hold more promise than long-held fantasy

·     Carolina, a ghost searching for her lost child

·     Tiffany, a teenager with hopes and dreams

·     George, whose life is ebbing, but not his love

·     Sheila, a young woman estranged from her family

·     Carlos, the groundskeeper who has devoted his career to the park

Lakeview Park is a collection of O. Henry-like slice-of-life stories about the people who frequent a fictitious park. These tales reveal folks of all ages, from a small child to the elderly.

Watch the video trailer for Lakeview Park here.

Lorna’s own solo work is a “beach read,” a fast-paced mystery/romance/ghost story, set in Laguna Beach California, called Ghost Writer.

This book contains my favorite character, the ghost, Max. The story is somewhat reminiscent of The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, but without the paranormal romance. It features two stubborn and opinionated characters, who clash but eventually learn from each other.

When unemployed computer programmer Nan Burton inherits a California beach cottage from her great-grandaunt, she’s delighted. But she’s in for a huge surprise: The house is haunted by the ghost of famous romance writer Max Murdoch (pen name Maxine DuBois) who insists Nan complete his last novel, threatening to keep her from sleeping until she agrees. The ensuing clash pits youth against the long-dead but still egotistical author with humorous and moving results.

Watch the video trailer for Ghost Writer here.

So if you want to unwind from all the craziness of the holidays, here are a couple of suggestions. Escape in a book!

Remember, all of our books are available in Kindle and NOOK formats. No worries about delivery before the twenty-fifth.

Wishing one and all a terrific holiday season and a blessed New Year!

Republishing

We were blessed to be published by two small independent publishers. The owners of both became dear friends as well as our publishers.

The first company was sold when the owner could no longer run the business due to Parkinson’s disease. This situation was sad and distressing since we cared about the people involved.

We stayed with the new publisher since they had seven of our titles. So far, they seem okay, if indifferent, but we haven’t seen any royalties for months. However, getting our rights back would cost us more than we could make in several years. So, the books will stay where they are—for now.

The second publisher had a stroke about two years ago. Again, we felt terrible because she is a dear friend. In addition, she created a new imprint for my book. Besides being published by her imprint, I did a great deal of editing for her.

We have prayed for her recovery and continue to hope she will be able to resume her work, but after nearly two years without royalties, I felt I had no choice but to take back my book.

I contacted the cover artist to find out who owned the cover art. Some artists license their covers to the publishers and retain their ownership. Others create the books for the publisher. The publisher pays for the cover and has ownership. This was the case with my cover. Thank goodness because it is my favorite cover.

The first sample I received in no way reflected the story. It featured two half-naked people against an orange sunset. I loathe the color orange, and the cover looked like it should have been for erotica. Not at all like my book.

Larry mocked up an idea, and the cover artist took it to a whole new level. It completely reflects the story.

I contacted the publisher and requested my rights back. In addition, I asked for the cover rights in exchange for any money I am owed. Bless her. She gave me full rights in writing as well as the cover art and the PDF of the book as submitted for publication.

Then came the hard work. Fortunately, I have a program with an OCR (Optical character Reader). I was able to convert the PDF to a text file, so I could create a new Word file. The downside is in the conversion, all the formatting is lost. Occasionally, words are lost or wrong. Therefore, a complete edit is necessary, along with new formatting. But at least I had about 95% of the text intact.

I contacted the cover artist again. I offered her a small amount to remove the publisher’s information, and she agreed to do it as well as size the cover for the new book.

I tried to format the book to closely resemble the original so the transition would appear nearly seamless. This took lots of time and effort, but the result was worth it.

Once I had the complete manuscript and cover, I was able to self-publish it as a second edition. For this one, I added a new section in the back: Book Club Questions.

The book is now available again on Amazon as a second edition, and I am happy to have complete ownership of it. From here on, I will have complete control of the book without depending on anyone else.

Since I did this one, I have also converted two books for a friend. They had been published by the same publisher.

I anticipate we may have to do the same for the other seven books. Someday, we will probably have all of our books self-published.

Meet Cheryl Gardarian

Today I invited one of my co-authors of the Aspen Grove romance anthologies to be my guest here. Cheryl Gardarian first appeared in print in An Aspen Grove Christmas (“Christmas Treasure”). She also has a novella (“Chapel of Love”) in The Art of Love and …And a Silver Sixpence in Her Shoe (“Something Borrowed”). She has since published several of her own books.

When did you first start writing?

I’ve always loved telling a good story, especially if it involves animals of any kind.

Where do you get your story ideas?

Story ideas come to me constantly from everyday life. I now make notes on my iPhone. I’ve actually done hours of research for several books and haven’t ended up writing a single word. They’re set aside as future projects, and may someday come to fruition, or not.

How do you create your characters? Are they based on real people?

My characters create themselves. I practice lucid-dreaming—the semi-conscious state before you fall asleep or when you start to wake up. I allow my mind to wander the future pages of my novel. Some of my characters are extremely insistent, and I’ve been known to rewrite whole sections, or the entire plot to include these obnoxious pests. In the anthology, An Aspen Grove Christmas, each author was to write a love story culminating in a Christmas wedding. My two main characters were all set and falling in love, then a pushy EMT, with a minor part, decided to insert himself into the story and fall in love with the heroine’s best friend. The solution was an unplanned double wedding.

Besides the Aspen Grove romance anthologies, of which you are a co-author, what other books or series have you written?

The first book I wrote is The Unexpected Reunion. My first solo published book, however, was The Cookie Tree. My most recent book is The Cabin.

      

Aspen Grove is based on two Colorado mountain towns. Have you created any other fictitious locations for your books?

All three of my novels have been set in real locations: The Cookie Tree in South Orange County, The Unexpected Reunion in Huntington Beach, and The Cabin in Panguitch, Utah. My current series is set in the Yellowstone area but I did invent a fictional town.

Did you enjoy writing as part of a group? Why or why not?

I enjoyed writing the anthologies. When I was included in An Aspen Grove Christmas, Lorna asked me at the last minute to fill in for another writer. I only had a few weeks to complete a novella. I learned I work well under pressure. The other writers’ stories were already completed, so I was able to read them and use some of the same characters and locations in my novella. I discovered I had a knack for intertwining my story to match the theme of the other authors.

My only complaint about writing the anthologies was since the three novellas were my first works, and they were written in first person, I had a bit of trouble writing a longer novel in third person.

Of everything you have written, what is your favorite book to date?

My favorite book so far is The Cabin. It is my most recent work. I love the plots of my other novels, but in reading them now, I see how much my technique and writing skills have improved, so I’m more critical of them.

Cheryl Gardarian grew up in Huntington Beach, California. Her love of writing started early. However, she majored in the sciences and received a Bachelor of Science in Dental Hygiene at the University of Southern California. A few years later, she obtained her Real Estate Broker license and opened her own office specializing in equestrian properties. Maintaining two careers, raising a son, and caring for a multitude of barnyard animals kept Cheryl busy for many years. Then her creative side beckoned, and Cheryl joined the Lagunita Writers Group. She co-authored three Aspen Grove romance anthologies with several members of the group, and then branched out on her own to write three of her own: The Cookie Tree, The Unexpected Reunion and The Cabin. Cheryl is currently working on a series set in Yellowstone National Park.

A New Book by Marilyn Meredith

My guest today is my prolific friend, mystery writer Marilyn Meredith. She produces two books every year, one each for two different series. I don’t know how she does it. And they are all TERRIFIC!

After Writing So Many Books, Where Do I Get My Inspiration?

That is the question Lorna asked me to answer. What first popped into mind was this: I haven't got a clue.

Usually when I finish a book in my other series, I'm already thinking about what I might write about in the new one for the next series.

With River Spirits, I had no idea what I was going to write at first. I remembered once when a movie was being made in the mountains and the crew and stars were staying in and around town. The major stars were housed at the Springville Inn. When we had dinner at the local Mexican Inn, it wasn't hard to pick out the folks who were working on the movie—besides being strangers, they had on new clothes that they thought people wore in the mountains. Brand new outdoors outfits from places like Lands’ End and J. Crew, instead of normal clothes like all the rest of us wore.

That gave me the idea to write about a movie being made on the Bear Creek Indian Reservation. Once I started writing notes (my version of brainstorming) I knew that I wanted to revisit the legend of the Hairy Man, the local Indians' version of Big Foot.

Because I write mysteries, I began to figure out which of the new characters I should kill off and why. What could this person be guilty of that would be enough of a motive for someone to want him or her dead?

One idea just builds on another until a plot begins to develop.

Marilyn

Blurb for River Spirits:

While filming a movie on the Bear Creek Indian Reservation, the film crew trespasses on sacred ground, threats are made against the female stars, a missing woman is found by the Hairy Man, an actor is murdered and Deputy Tempe Crabtree has no idea who is guilty. Once again, the elusive and legendary Hairy Man plays an important role in this newest Deputy Tempe Crabtree mystery.

Marilyn Meredith is the author of over thirty-five published novels, including the award winning Deputy Tempe Crabtree mystery series, the latest River Spirits from Mundania Press. Marilyn is a member of three chapters of Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America, and on the board of the Public Safety Writers of America. She lives in the foothills of the Sierra. Visit her at http://fictionforyou.com and her blog at http://marilymeredith.blogspot.com/

  

Contest: The winner will be the person who comments on the most blog posts during the tour.

He or she can either have a character in my next book named after them, or choose an earlier book in the Deputy Tempe Crabtree series—either a paper book or e-book.

Tomorrow you can find me hanging out at Mason Canyon’s place, http://masoncanyon.blogspot.com/